Leeds opened their latest defence of the Super League title with a routine win against a Hull team whose hopes of springing a surprise were dented by the loss of their major off-season signing Gareth Ellis before the kick-off.

Ellis, whose last season with the Wests Tigers in Sydney was ruined by a foot injury, watched the match with growing dejection from the bench with his leg in a pot, as his former team-mates Kevin Sinfield and Danny McGuire picked up where they had left off in the Rhinos' fifth Grand Final victory in six years last October.

So this could prove a horribly costly opening night for Hull, who were regarded as the most likely new challengers to emerge this season to Super League's established heavyweights – of whom Wigan also started their campaign with a comfortable 42-0 victory at Salford, in which Sam Tomkins scored a hat-trick.

Hull's coach, Peter Gentle, refused to speculate on the nature of Ellis's injury until he has had scans but confirmed that the problem is with the same foot that troubled him last year, which seems certain to mean a lengthy absence.

"It was a big night for him and losing him knocked the wind out of all of us," said the Australian. "But there's no excuse for that second half. I thought we were going with them at six-all. Then they kicked up a gear and we just fell apart."

Sinfield, who had converted his own scrappy opening try in the first half to pass the career points tally of the great Welshman Lewis Jones and climb to eighth in rugby league's all-time list, provided the final pass for further scores from the Australian centre Joel Moon, on a promising debut, and for the veteran prop Jamie Peacock, who showed something suspiciously like a sidestep to beat the full-back.

Then McGuire, who had been the most enterprising and watchable player on the pitch throughout, laid on a try for Chris Clarkson before crashing over himself, with Ryan Hall also galloping in from range as Hull faded alarmingly in the closing stages. They had shown some promise in the first 55 minutes, responding to Sinfield's opener with a well-taken try from Joe Arundel that was made by his former Castleford team-mate Joe Westerman. Hull had chances to take the lead in the third quarter, with Brett Seymour inches short of adding a second try. But a bad fumble by Ben Galea from a scrum on halfway handed Leeds a rare crack at Hull's line and they capitalised clinically with Moon's try.

"It was tough – for 60 minutes it could have gone either way," said the Leeds coach, Brian McDermott, who confirmed that the new playing surface which has been laid at a seven-figure cost over the winter had caused problems for both teams, although there is no suggestion at this stage that it contributed to the injuries to Ellis and another Rhinos debutant, Joe Vickery. "It's a bit slippy and slidy, especially if you're not wearing the right footwear."

Longer studs will presumably be compulsory when the Rhinos face Melbourne Storm in the World Club Challenge here in three weeks.